Web Site Leaks Edwards' Presidential Plans

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WASHINGTON — Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards is running for president for a second time, his campaign said Wednesday.

The former North Carolina senator plans to formally announce his candidacy Thursday from New Orleans' 9th Ward, which was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. (Watch Edwards' announcement live on WRAL.com beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday.)

But his campaign got a little ahead of itself Wednesday and announced his intentions online.

"Better a day earlier than a day late," said Jennifer Palmieri, Edwards' adviser.

On the eve of the formal launch of his candidacy, Edwards visited the site of his planned announcement Wednesday for a photo opportunity. He did yard work at the home of Orelia Tyler, 54, whose house was completely gutted by Hurricane Katrina and is close to being rebuilt.

Edwards' impromptu announcement was made in the wake of former President Gerald Ford's death and after his campaign accidentally launched his campaign Web site a day early, then shut it back down.

The campaign Web site's logo is "John Edwards 08" and its slogan is "Tomorrow begins today."

"This campaign is about changing America," the Web site read, listing five priorities that fit neatly with Edwards' message of economic equality: "Providing universal health care for all Americans," "Rebuilding America's middle class and eliminating poverty," and "Creating tax fairness by rewarding work, not just wealth."

Political observer David McClennan told WRAL the online slip-up has made the campaign appear unprofessional.

“It comes across as a little disrespectful,” McClennan said. “This is a day to honor an ex-president, not to announce the future run for the presidency. So, it's a big mistake, not one that John Edwards needs.”

McClennan said Edwards can ill afford such missteps. He will have to raise a lot of money for this presidential run.

"Hillary Clinton is out there with tens of millions of dollars, and John Edwards has a couple hundred thousand,” McClennan said.

Edwards' campaign chairman in 2004, Ed Turlington, told WRAL that he disagrees with that assessment. Turlington said the release shows the staffers are aggressive and ready to get started.

Edwards, 53, issued a statement on former President Ford's death, saying he was deeply saddened by the news and calling Ford a "true leader."

"He called on us to never lose faith that we can change America," Edwards said.

Taking turns with about 30 young people shoveling loads of dirt in Tyler's backyard, Edwards declined to discuss the campaign, focusing instead on the slow recovery in New Orleans, where whole neighborhoods remain a wasteland.

"Anyone who's not concerned with the rate of recovery is not paying attention," said Edwards. He said finger-pointing is part of the problem, adding that the student volunteers he worked with provided an example of what can be accomplished through cooperation.

Edwards arrived promptly at 1:30 p.m., clad in jeans and a khaki work shirt. His aides kept more than two-dozen reporters and photographers at bay as he and the students prepared Tyler's yard for landscaping.

Tyler is still living in a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer in her yard.

"I feel like a child with Santa Claus," Tyler said before Edwards arrived.

The son of a textile mill worker, Edwards has been on a fast track most of his life despite his up-by-the-bootstraps roots.

A standout law student who became a stunningly successful trial lawyer, Edwards vaulted from nowhere politically into the U.S. Senate and then onto the 2004 Democratic presidential ticket - all in less than six years.

In 1998, in his first bid for public office, Edwards defeated incumbent Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-North Carolina, a leading advocate for impeachment of President Clinton.

Edwards began building support for his first presidential bid shortly after arriving in the Senate. He quickly made a name for himself in Congress, using his legal background to help Democratic colleagues navigate the impeachment hearings.

Edwards launched a bid for the Democratic nomination in 2003 and quickly caught the eye of Democratic strategists. Although he won only the South Carolina primary, his skills on the trail, his cheerful demeanor, and his message of "two Americas" - one composed of the wealthy and privileged, and the other of the hardworking common man - excited voters, especially independents and moderate-leaning Democrats.

Edwards' handsome, youthful appearance also gave him a measure of star quality.

Those were among the qualities that led Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 standard bearer, to select Edwards as his running mate. It was a stunning success for someone who had majored in textile management as an undergraduate as a kind of insurance policy in case a law career didn't pan out.

Even though he is polling well in the early caucus states like Iowa, Edwards is considered an underdog in the burgeoning race for the Democratic nomination.

“Hillary Clinton and perhaps Barack Obama have become such big names right now, so he's got to combat that star quality they've got with his own message production,” McClennan said.

Turlington said he believes Edwards is in a better position to succeed this time around.

“He spent the last two years traveling the world, working on issues he cares about, like economics for working people, college for everyone,” Turlington said.

McClennan said that to that end, Edwards has a compelling message to spread if he can secure enough money and attention.

“He's talking about what people bring home,” McClennan said. “He's talking about how much it cost to get health-care insurance, how much it cost to go to college, the things that people can identify with.”

Republicans have sought to cast Edwards as a money-chasing trial lawyer. It is an image that Edwards has tried to counter by arguing that he represented ordinary people wronged by big corporations.

"I spent most of my adult life representing kids and families against very powerful opponents, usually big insurance companies," he liked to say. "And my job was to give them a fair shake, to give them a fair chance."

McClennan said that during this campaign, Edwards will have more name recognition within the Democratic Party, which should help his fundraising.

Edwards' decision to announce his candidacy in New Orleans is also a positive move, said McClennan. He said it will position Edwards as a national candidate for president, rather than a North Carolina candidate.

erstameyDec 28, 2006

shirleyr1Dec 27, 2006

narck9Dec 27, 2006

What a GREAT idea!!! Lets put a trial lawyer in charge of our country. Haven't they created enough problems?

rand321Dec 27, 2006

Thats news. I thought its been out for weeks. Seems like is running with the same message as last time. The sequel is usually no where as good as the first time.

kmason910Dec 27, 2006

One could say, "people who live in Abramof-financed, Halliburton/KBR-no-bid contract-cost plus-built, FEMA-administered houses should not throw stones", but that might be misconstrued to be drawing attention elsewhere.

Our political system has many flaws, and one of the worst, arguably, is that a candidate's viability is related to his or her ability to amass and spend obscene amounts of money. If we are going to discuss issues, let's discuss issues, and let's look at the substance of what a candidate has to offer---not just their relative "worth" in PAC contributions. No politician is without strings in this day and time. Our job as an electorate is to sift through and decipher the rhetoric and find the best person for the job.

It's got to start somewhere, and sometime. Why not now?

FloydRTurboDec 27, 2006

Got to work out those staff kinks, John. Guess you can't afford good people on just the $40,000/year UNC is paying you, huh?

Time to tap your Trial Lawyers pals and the Union thugs for BIG BUCK$$$.

How's that Chapel Hill Castle coming along? Are you building bunk houses out back for all those "poor people", John? Oh well, load up the bus with hair spray and toothpaste and head to Iowa .... is the UNC Pep Band going with you too?

jgriffith3792Dec 27, 2006

Nice strategy – It would seem some folks' insights and recollections are surpassed only by their ability to spell - when the facts cannot be disputed, draw attention elsewhere. A ploy that worked well for johnny when he was out chasing ambulances, creating that fortune. Fact to ponder: edwards web site leaks the fact he going to run for pres. During the Wal-Mart debacle a staffer messes up and uses him name trying to get a PS3 for his kids (BTW, which of the two Americas he likes to talk about has people on staff to do their shopping for them?). So, here we have 2, count them two, recent events where people in his organization mess up. This guy wants to be the leader of the free world and he can’t even manage his own private staff? What is he going to do with an entire government? People, please do let your hatred and frustration with the current administration cloud your judgment. Yes, absolutely a change is needed. But, john Edwards is DEFINTELY not it.

kmason910Dec 27, 2006

It would seem some folks' insights and recollections are surpassed only by their ability to spell.

SharkDec 27, 2006

How ironic Edwards goes to the site of one of the biggest Dimocratic failures known to man, One only has to look back to Katrina, and how mayor Nagin, Blanco, and there illustrious congressman with ninty Thousand dollars in cold cash in his freezer, to say "Elect me president,send me your money, and I will look after you. What a Farce.

kmason910Dec 27, 2006

And some folks probably hunger for the leadership of statesmen such as "Duke" Cunningham, Tom DeLay, Bob Ney, and Mark Foley. C'mon folks---it's time to look beyond the end of our noses and stock statements and realize a lot of folks are hurting in this country, and we need to focus our energies on rebuilding confidence in our leadership. We could do worse, but we have to make a change.